Unleashing Sin - A. M. Wilson Page 0,58

no different, blossom. I won’t be steps away. I’ll be right there, holdin’ your hand until you decide it’s time to let go of mine. The only person capable of leaving here is you, and when you decide that time has come, I’ll let you go. Until then, I’m here, and I’m takin’ care of you, which means you’re going to get yourself checked out.”

Her face changes from hysteria to one of confusion. “Why would you say that?”

I get up from the bed and busy myself with finding her some decent clothes to wear outside rather than the long tee she has on for sleep. “I don’t have time to rehash everything I just said. You got a question, then spit it out.”

“Fine,” she sasses, and the heat in her voice makes my lips twitch. Even during a full-blown argument, she can make me smile. “Why do you think I’ll leave?”

The urge to smile vanishes. “Not now, but you will. When you’re all put back together.”

“What more needs to be put back together?”

“Someday, maybe not tomorrow, but in the future, you’re going to want to find your family. And it’ll shred me, but when you go back to them, you won’t need me.” I finally find the bag of clothes we bought that day in the closet and yank out a pair of jeans and a shirt. I turn and toss them on the bed, avoiding looking her in the eye after the truth I let myself share.

Movement has me turning my head to her, and I find her kneeling on my bed, arms out at her sides, palms facing me. Her hair is a glorious cascade down her shoulders and arms, a mixture of bedhead and just Shelby. I’ve never seen her more beautiful than in that simple tee. “What about me, about what you see right here, says that’ll happen? What have I done to make you think I’d want to leave you?”

“You might not want to, but you will. They’ll want you back.”

Her voice falls. “And what about you?”

“I don’t matter.”

“You matter to me.”

I rub my right fist over the left side of my chest. “I don’t deserve you,” I tell her honestly.

“I think you do.” She answers with her own truth. “And I think you already know that.”

I track her movement as she slips off the side of the bed, not stopping until she’s directly in front of me. The tips of her toes nearly touch mine when she stops so close. I can smell the shampoo we bought for her from her hair, the flowery scent a perfect complement to the nickname I gave her what feels like decades ago.

She reaches forward and takes my hand in her surprisingly strong grasp. With a sharp tug, she walks backward toward the bed in an attempt to take me with her.

And who the fuck am I to resist?

I’ve been scary.

I’ve been mean.

I’ve abandoned her and left her with Elias. Called her out and mocked her. I’ve shown her the ugliest, darkest sides of my blackened soul, yet here she is, dragging me into her light. She’s fearless and strong; the meek woman from the past has vanished, and in her place is this warrior who gives as good as she gets.

So yeah, having her tugging my hand to pull me into a bed where I can hold her to my side and know she’s safe for the time being? I’d be an idiot to resist.

“The real question is do I deserve you?”

With my hand still in her grip, I watch as she lifts one knee and then the other onto the bed, settling on her calves near the middle. “I’m just a man,” I rasp. I reach behind my head with my free hand, fist the material at my neck, and drag my tee over my head. Shelby’s gaze drops to the colorful markings across my wide chest before she returns her eyes to mine.

“You’re so much more than that,” she whispers back.

I follow her onto my bed and settle near the middle. As soon as I’m stretched out, Shelby curls into me, chest to chest, hip to hip, her warm palm near my pec, and her chin on top of it. Her free hand absently traces the lines of my ink. I drop my free hand around her back and resume rubbing circles there. Somewhere during our discussion, the topic of going to the hospital was dropped.

“How’s your pain?”

Her shoulder lifts. “It’s waning.”

“I want you to